Press Releases

American Cancer Society Honors Outstanding Quality of Life Researcher

Founder of Medical School Dept. to receive 2012 Trish Greene Quality of Life Award

ATLANTA — April 25, 2012— David Cella, Ph.D., professor and founding chair of the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, has been chosen to receive the 2012 American Cancer Society Trish Greene Quality of Life Award, a prestigious award honoring investigators in the field of quality of life research. The award will be presented in a ceremony in Dallas on Thursday, May 3, 2012.

Dr. Cella’s leadership and contribution to the science of cancer quality of life includes some 25 years of innovative research on psychosocial aspects of cancer survivorship, quality of life evaluation during cancer treatment, and quality of life outcomes in long-term cancer survivors. The driving vision behind all of Dr. Cella’s work is that health and healthcare are optimized and even transformed when the patient’s voice is properly represented and understood.

“Dr. Cella’s work has bettered the lives of those living with cancer and their families,” said W. Phil Evans, M.D., F.A.C.R., president of the American Cancer Society. “He truly deserves to be recognized for his contributions to the field of quality of life research.”

Improving the quality of life for cancer patients is an important way in which the American Cancer Society is helping people get well from cancer every day. Throughout her career, Trish Greene, R.N., Ph.D., focused on improving quality of life for people with cancer and their families. In 1999, following her death from pancreatic cancer at age 50, a small group of people close to Trish embarked on a project in her honor, and in recognition of the work in quality of life to which she was so passionately dedicated.

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.8 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.